A 2-year stint in the Peace Corps beginning in 1965 afforded Bob Needham his first exposure to Brazil
Meet Your Neighbor
By Terry Organ
Miner Staff Writer
Local man travels world in search for minerals
KINGMAN – Bob Needham explored for gold, diamonds and copper throughout Central and South America and Australia, working 27 years as a mining engineer, geologist and independent consultant. Miner Photo/TERRY ORGAN
Bob and Mariana Needham look over photos he took while working in the mining and geology fields for 27 years. Mariana was born in Brazil, and the photos were taken in the jungles of Brazil, the country in which Needham spent 75 percent of his time.
He estimates he spent 75 percent of that time in Brazil. But it was not hostile natives or the dreaded piranha found in some rivers that are most etched in his mind as far as hair-raising experiences.
“I was in a helicopter crash in the jungle one time when we lost a tail rotor while flying over a lake,” he said. “The pilot and I swam ashore, and after two days walking to the closest river, we were able to flag down a boat for help.
“Another time I was run over by my own motor boat. I was in a river with rapids when the boat hit a large whirlpool and I was thrown into the water.”
“They say you see your life flashing by in an instant before death, and that’s what happened. I saw the motor’s prop coming at my face, turned away and got hit in the back. It tore me up but I survived.”
Needham worked for Nord resources, a U.S.-based corporation, in remote Brazilian locations during 1975-80 when he had those two frightening experiences. But they did not sour him on the career he had chosen.
He would do a lot of tropical geology in the jungles of Brazil during a career from which he retired in 2002.
Needham, who was born in Pittsburgh, also worked in the United States, Panama, Belgium, Japan, England, France, Germany, Australia, Guinea, Uruguay, Canada and Italy. His work in Europe mainly involved marketing of minerals.
Needham often worked 50-75 miles deep in the Brazilian jungle, a long way from any grocery store. That made it necessary to engage natives as hunters, who would bring meat into the camps on a regular basis. The menu included monkeys, tortoises and capybaras, large web-footed rodents that often reach 48 inches in length and 24 inches in height and which are prized by natives for their meat.
British Petroleum and Rio Tinto Zinc were other major mining interests for which he worked, Needham said. He also was a consultant for Western Mining of Australia.
One of his biggest engineering projects was as the project manager for British Petroleum at the Caba Cao Mine in western Brazil. He spent about two years building a $40 million processing plant for refining of ore from an underground mine close to the border of Bolivia, Needham said. “I loved every one of the countries in which I worked,” he said. “If I learned anything it’s how nice people are.”
Needham admitted Brazil is his favorite foreign country. He met his wife Mariana there and they have been married 27 years.
A 2-year stint in the Peace Corps beginning in 1965 afforded Needham his first exposure to Brazil. Most job opportunities in his area of expertise today are in Africa. That continent contains places too dangerous for Americans to work, Needham said.
Needham has long been an amateur photographer. He said he makes prints now for the Mohave Museum of History and Arts.
He also does some volunteer work for the Bureau of Land Management as a site steward. He visits two historic areas four times a year to ensure they have not been vandalized or had artifacts stolen.
Needham moved to Kingman two years ago from Hollywood, Fla. He said he was still working as a geologist in the Black Mountains before the move and came to love the area and its climate.
He also enjoys mountain biking and travel with his wife.
